Jacquard strip



May 5%, 19%.. J. LAWSON T A1.. www

JACQUARD STRP Filed vMay 28, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet l mur ERM May', i936.

.J. LAWSON ET A1.; 2,039,725

JACQUARD STRIP May 5, w36- J. LAWSON Er A1. 2,039,725

JACQUARD STRIP Filed May 28, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet v'5 Patented May 5,1936 UNITED' STATES PATENT, OFFICE 2,039,725 JACQUARD STRIP chusettsApplict May' as, 1931, serial No. 540,584 4 claims. (C1. afs-156) Thisapplication isa continuation in part of our co-pending Patent No.1,872,597. Y

This invention relates to jacquard or like strips and to the method ofmaking same.

While our invention may incertain casesY be Fig. 3 is a verticaltransverse section taken.

through the jacquard drum and showing two ofl the jacquard stripsremovably positioned in lengthwise grooves thereof; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the jacquard strips.

In accordance with our invention anda-s disclosed in our parentapplication Ser, No. 177,262; there is provided an upright jacquard drumhaving throughout its entire periphery lengthwise extending slots ineach of which a jacquard strip is adapted to be position. The said drum,in the preferred embodiment of the invention and as disclosed in saidparent application, is rotated and also moved axially, and inthe saidmovement thereof the said jacquard stripsl control certaininstrumentalities whichjin turn control the pattern or stitch variation.While our invention is not limited to the employment or use of suchmechanism for controlling platingand reverse plating, an important useof the invention is for controlling the knitting of two threads, fed ina plating relation in such manner that either normalv or reverse platingmight occur. The present invention pertains more particularlyto thejacquard strip itself and to the manner ofV making the same, as well asa pattern drumor pattern wheel having thestrips' removably supported inlengthwise extending grooves thereof. While the: invention hereinclaimed may be employed in connection with other types of knittingmachines, We preferably use the same with that type of knitting machineknown as the Banner" and disclosed'in'the patent to Hemphill No.933,443; Our present invention is particularly useful for effectingpatterning through plating and reverse plating, and to that endwemay andpreferably do employ the principles of operation disclosed in the patentto Robert H. Lawson, No. 1,605,896, and refer to that patent for a fulldisclosure of special instrumentalities and regular web holders, one ofeach of which is positioned in each of the grooves of the sinker ring.Relative movement of the needles andsaid instrumentalities, andpreferably movement of saidl instrumentalities transversely of theneedle series, effects yarn or thread engagement, so that 15': twoplating yarns which are fed in a plating ree, lation are reversed inposition, desirably, during the loop formation, so that the face orfront thread appears at the back o f the fabric, and vice versa, all asfully disclosed in said Patent 15* No. 1,665,896, to which reference ismade for complete description.

Referring to the drawings, we have in Fig. 2 represented at I a needlecylinder' ofO a circular hosiery knitting machine, such, for example, asthat shown in the Lawson Patent No. 1,605,896. The said cylinder, beingin this embodiment `of the invention rotatable, has fast thereon a gear2 meshing with a gear 3, At its upper end the knitting machine isprovided with any desired and preferably the usual web holder bed' ringprovided with radial grooves represented at 4in Fig. 1. Each of saidgrooves receivesr not only the usual web holder or so-ealled sinkensuchas Shownin the said Lawson Patent No. 1,605,896, but also receives aspecial instrumentality 5 of the general character shown in said PatentNo. 1,605,896said elements being wholly disconnected from eachother andcapable of independent radial movementinrthe said grooves. For furtherdescription of thermanner in whichrsaid instrumentalities cooperate ineffecting changes from plating to reverse plating, reference is made tosaid patent. The' gear 3 is'fast for rotating movementupon` 4b* aspindle 6. Said spindle 6 is Asupported in a suitable bearing ,'Imounted in the; bed plate o f the machine. Upon the spindle 6 are fastcollars 8', 9, and fast upon'the upper end of said spindle is a jackreceiving dial disk indicated 4g generally at I0, andwhich is intransverse alignment withthe sinker cam ring. vThe said disk` is rotatedin a clockwise direction' andhas upon its upper hface radial groovesreceiving`. jacks I2, the outer end of each, of which is bent' at sub-5d stantially right angles, though upon an arc, `as indicated at I3. Wehave shown eachbe'ntV end I3 as of sufficient extent to' engageandthere",- upon move radially inward;` twjspecialV iristruj mentalities5,/but if desired e'achofisaidibe't ends I3 may control but a singlespecial instruimentality, in which case we will provide as many jacks I2as there are special instrumentalities 5.

Having referred generally to the arrangement of the jacks I2 and theeffect of their movement from their innermost position, where they donot act upon the corresponding instrumentalities 5, into their`outermost position, where'they engage corresponding instrumentalitiesand push them inward for effecting reverse plating, which change inposition of the jacks I2 is controlled by the jacquard drum, we will nowdescribe one form of jacquard drum or member which may be employed forthe purpose.

Our-invention is not limited to any particular form of jacquardcontrolling member. We prefer, however, to use a drum which isconstantly rotated in one direction and which'desirably is graduallyracked or movedrstep by step axially, so that the formations hereinafterreferred to upon the jacquard drum may be presented to and act upon thejacks I2.

We provide the jacquard drum, in the manner hereinafter described, withany desired number of circumferential rows'of projections or formations,each circumferential row corresponding to one coursein the knittingoperation, and it will therefore be understood that the number ofpossible projections or formations in each such circumferential row maybe the same as the number of needles inthe knitting machine, so thateach formation in each circumferential row of the jacquard drum controlsa loop or stitch in that course. In a knitting machine of coarse gaugeespecially, we provide as many possible projections in each row as thereare needles in the needle cylinder.

While the formation upon the jacquard drum may be of any suitablecharacter, our invention not being limited or restricted in thisrespect,

Awe preferably provide a number of strips which may also be referred toas tricks or strip-like pattern elements which are inserted in orapplied to the circumference of the jacquard drum lengthwise of saiddrum, and upon each strip we provide for a number of projections, thetotal possible number representing the number of courses of the stockingor other knitted article that may thus be controlled, assuming that thedrum is moved or racked lengthwise for each revolution ofl the needlecylinder. If each such strip had all the possible projections thereon itwould follow that in each course, the corresponding jack would be movedinward viewing Fig. 1, and hence-the corresponding pair of specialinstrumentalities 5 4would remain in their outer position and normalplating would result. If, however,one or more projections is or areremoved from any one strip, suchremoval results in reverse plating atthe needles corresponding thereto in the course or courses where suchprojection or projections is or are removed, all of which will beevident from the foregoing descripduced in a reverse direction in thenext fortyeig'ht courses.

The jacquard drum is indicated generally at 43. The entire outer surfaceof the drum is lengthwise grooved, as indicated at 53, in a mannergenerally similar to a needle cylinder, and in each of said grooves ispositioned a strip 54 shown in position in Figs. 2 and 3 and shownremoved in Fig. 4. Each strip 54 has, in the selected embodiment of theinvention, forty-eight possible projections'or formations 55 slightlyspaced from each other. Such strip, for convenience of description, werefer to as a jack selector strip. It may also be termed a strip-likeelement, pattern element or member, or trick. Such strip is preferablymade of metal and, according to the design or pattern, the projections55 which are not employed are removed before the strip is inserted. Itwill be evident that thevstrips `must be and are very accuratelyrelatively po- In a circular, independent needle, hosiery knittingmachine, such as shown in the Robert H. Lawson Patent No. 1,605,896referred to in our original specification, when of fine gauge, therewould be 240 or 260 needles in the needle circle. In a coarse gaugemachine of that same type, there would be or might be 220 needles in theneedle circle. As set forth in our original application, the number ofstrips in the jacquard drum 43 would, in the case of coarse gaugemachines, be equal to the number of needles in the needle circle, and ina fine gauge machine, we there represented the employment of one stripfor every two next adjacent needles. Inasmuch as each jacquard strip mayhave, according to the call of the pattern forty-eight butts, or thepattern may call for any lesser number of butts on the jacquard strip,and arranged at any place or places thereon, it is evident that ourinvention is of great practical importance, as the making of thejacquard strips all alike (as is done in accordance with our originaldisclosure in the application of which this is a division) and thesubsequent removal of the not-needed butt or butts when it comes toplacing the jacquard strips in the drum according to the call ofthepattern, avoids the necessity of making dies, jigs, or other tools,for each and every position and number of butts.

The great advantage of our invention is at once evident when it isrealized that a mathematical computation proves that with 240 needlesand a strip for each needle, there are 280 trillion or more possiblearrangements of a butt or butts on a strip, if the number of buttsvaries from one to forty-eight, and the one or more butts be locatedanywhere on the strip along the edge that is the outer, active edge whenthe butt is in position in the jacquard drum 43.

Having thus described one illustrative embodiment of the invention andthe best mode known to us for practising the method of the invention, itis to be understood that although specific terms are employed, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth inthe followingclaims.

We claim:

1. A jacquard strip for use in a knitting machine comprising a metallicpiece elongated but thin and having a large number of projections allextending from one face thereof, all of said projections being of thesame size and each adapted to control a single course in the knitting,each projection being close to the next one on either side thereof andeach projection being adapted to be readily severed from the strip inaccordance with the pattern desired, and all such projections in thestrip controlling stitch formations in the same wale of the fabric, saidstrip having projecting ends in the plane of the strip adapted to beengaged by holding means for xedly but removably holding the same inposition upon the jacquard strip carrier.

2. A multiplicity of jacquard strips adapted for use upon a jacquarddrum in parallel relationship thereon, each such strip comprising ametallic piece elongated but thin and having a large number ofprojections, all extending from one face only thereof, all of saidprojections being of the same size and each adapted to control a singlecourse in the knitting operation, each of said projections being closeto the next one on either side thereof, and each projection beingremovable, from the strip in accordance with the pattern desired, eachsuch strip having opposite projecting ends in the plane of the stripadapted to be engaged by the securing means of the jacquard drum,whereby the multiplicity of strips may be readily released from saidfixed, pattern controlling position.

3. A multiplicity of jacquard strips adapted for use upon a jacquarddrum in parallel relationship thereon, each such strip comprising ametallic piece elongated but thin and having a large number ofprojections, all extending from one face only thereof, all of saidprojections being of the same size and each adapted to control a singlecourse in the knitting operation, each of said projections being closeto the next one on either side thereof, and each projection beingremovable from the strip in accordance with the pattern desired, eachsaid strip having at its respective ends projections in the plane of thestrip, over which ends cap plates of the jacquard drum are adapted to bepositioned, whereby the jacquard strips are held in place upon the drumby said cap plates, thereby permitting the multiplicity of strips to bereadily released from the fixed pattern controlling position.

4. In a circular, independent needle, hosiery knitting machine of therotary needle cylinder type having substantially 220 needles in theneedle circle, and in combination therewith, a jacquard drum havinglongitudinal grooves the length thereof and in number extending entirelyabout the circumference of the said drum, and each of narrow width andof depth similar to the needle grooves of the needle cylinder, and thenumber of said grooves in the said drum being, in a coarse gauge machineof the said type, equal to the number of needle grooves in the needlecylinder, and a series of thin, metallic jacquard strips equal in numberto the number of said grooves in the jacquard drum and of a thicknesscorresponding to the width of the grooves and removably positioned andsecured therein, each said strip being of metal and having integrallyextending from the outer or active edge of the strip and in the planeonly of the said strip and of equal thickness with the body of the saidstrip, a straight butt or butts, the number and the position of the saidbutts on each positioned strip being dependent upon the call of thehosiery pattern, the butts not needed according to the call of thepattern having been removed from each strip after the manufacture of thestrip, whereby all the strips as manufactured may be identical in shapeand with all the butts thereon, and the butt or butts not called for bythe hosiery pattern may be removed from each strip prior to thepositioning of that strip in the jacquard drum, said jacquard drum andneedle cylinder being rotatable in synchronism.

JOHN LAWSON. ROBERT H. LAWSON.

